Jack Jennings, believed to be the last surviving Allied prisoner of war who worked on the infamous Burma Railway during World War II, has passed away at the age of 104. Jennings was laid to rest in Devon, commemorated for his endurance and survival through one of the war's harshest episodes. He was among the 60,000 Allied POWs forced by the Japanese to construct the railway linking Thailand and Myanmar (then Burma) after the fall of Singapore in February 1942. His journey of survival through various railway camps spanned three and a half years. Jennings' story, symbolizing the resilience and suffering of thousands, was honored in a tribute by The Economist's obituaries editor.
Jack Jennings: Final farewell to 'hero' Burma Railway veteran https://t.co/FLTxVE1EcN
With the defeat of his battalion at the fall of Singapore in February 1942, Jack Jennings began a forced trail from railway camp to railway camp that lasted for three and a half years. The slave labourer for the Japanese has died, aged 104 https://t.co/9pyRYyIRyK 👇
Jack Jennings was one of the Allied POWs who built the Burma Railway. The slave labourer for the Japanese has died, aged 104 https://t.co/kmXdrChhsT 👇
He is believed to have been the last surviving Allied prisoner of war, having slaved away on the Burma Railway in the 1940s. On “The Intelligence”, our obituaries editor pays tribute to Jack Jennings https://t.co/2CIw2eRrWt https://t.co/3bDsprqUZ1
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On this day in 1949, the body of Private Felix Longoria of Three Rivers, Texas, was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Longoria had died in the Philippines near the end of World War II. When his recovered remains were sent to Three Rivers for burial, the funeral director…
Jack Jennings, thought to be the last survivor of the infamous Burma Railway, is laid to rest in Devon today. He was one of 60,000 Allied prisoners of war who were forced by the Japanese to build a railway between Thailand and Myanmar (then Burma). His family have told us… https://t.co/mvqSo3YM5y